Is it too late?
by anabela3
Summary: Chapter 4 now up. Can Carla come to a decision about Peter? Please Review.
1. Chapter 1

**Set before Peter and Carla got together. Carla calls to say goodbye, but does Peter get there in time and does Leanne let him go?**

Her words were ringing in his ears. "I just called to say goodbye...". Time seemed to go in slow motion as he raced towards her flat, his wife not far behind, calling his name

He leaps up the stairs, her door ajar and hears the feint sound of voices, echoing down the corridor. He was scared to go any further, terrified of what he might find.

He hears Leannes voice behind him, but cannot make any sense of her words. He is focused only on the door in front of him and the chaos unfolding. He worries that he is too late to help her and that those words echoing in his mind are her last.

He swallows hard, trying unsuccessfully to hold in his tears for her. He feels guilty for not realising sooner that she was at rock bottom and was reaching out for his help. He inches closer to the door, Leanne grabbing his waist, preventing him from getting any nearer. She is also frightened, but for Peter, and how he will handle this.

He turns to his wife, unable to control his emotions for Carla and pleads with her to let him go to her, be there for her like he had promised so many times. Leanne can hear the heartbreak in his voice and tries to soothe him, to comfort him and reassure him that everything will be ok. But its like he isnt there.

Leanne, herself sheds a tear, as she finally realises that this special relationship means more to Peter than she 1st thought. She hates to see him in this state and it dawns on her the only thing that she can do is let him go to her.

Reluctantly she releases him from her grip and forms a weak smile. He whispers "thank you" as he turns on his heel and takes a deep breath.

To be continued...


	2. Chapter 2

She hears a familiar voice in the distance. The sound is comforting and as it gets nearer its confirmed who it belongs to.

"Carla.?." he sobs, tears falling down his face. She feels him beside her, the heat from his body radiating and warming her cold skin. She feels his hand join hers and it is gently lifted to receive a soft kiss.

The paramedics interrupt and start to move Carla out of the flat and into the waiting ambulance. Peter stays beside her, his gaze focused on her frail body. As they reach the entrance to the building the cold winter air hits his face and stings his wet cheeks. Leanne watches the scene before her unfold. Her heart breaks as she watches her distraught husband follow Carla onto the ambulance. She realises she has possibly lost him for good.

Peter paces the corridors of the hospital, his mind replaying the events of the evening just passed. His eyes are swollen, he does not have any more tears to shed. The harsh morning sunlight glares through the blinds and settles on his features.

Leanne observes him from a distance. She cannot understand what she has done to push her husband into another womans arms. Maybe he never truly forgave her for the affair with Nick, maybe he doesnt feel the closeness with her as he does Carla? She hopes for his sake that Carla will be okay, because if she isnt it will destroy him.

Peter catches Leanne out of the corner of his eye and makes his way over to her. As he gets nearer she notices the black circles under his eyes and knows he hasnt slept a wink.

"How is she?" she asks, gently placing her hand on his arm. Peter avoids looking at her directly and looks to the floor. He doesnt know what to say or do. This has been a wake up call to him and he now acknowleges that he loves Carla, but desperatley doesnt want to hurt Leanne. She has been his rock for so many years and the best mother to his son.

"She is sleeping. They have flushed the drugs out of her system and there shouldnt be any long term damage." He looks up into his wifes eyes. "Im sorry.." he starts but Leanne does not let him finish. She pulls him in for a hug, herself now shedding a tear.

"I know." she whispers into his ear. "I know what youre going to say." She pulls away from their embrace and steps back, forming a barrier. "This has been on the cards for ages and no matter how hard I try to stop you from seeing her, you cant. I have seen youre eyes light up when she passes you on the street, I have wondered when youre quiet what you are thinking, but now I know." she stops, furiously wiping her tears away.

"It was only last night that it truly hit me how I feel. The thought of losing her forever and never having the chance to tell her.." he takes a shaky breath, fresh tears threatening to fall. Leanne turns away and heads for the exit, her footsteps echoing down the silent corridor. She opens the door and turns her head to meet Peters gaze once more.

"Then you should go to her" she forms a weak smile to inform him that its okay. She gradually closes the door behind her and rushes out of the hospital. All she wants are some arms to cry into and someone to listen. She has just lost the love of her life.


	3. Chapter 3

**Thanks for the review and story alerts. I think i'll explore Leanne's feelings in later chapters, but for now its just Carter. Please review, any suggestions welcome!**

She hears the sounds of machines beeping, they seem so far away. Her eye lids seem heavy and she struggles to open them. She knows she is in hospital and she knows why. As her eyes gradully open, the strong lights of the ward hit the back of her eyes, making her wince. She feels a strong hand take hers.

"Nurse, shes waking up." he calls out and returns his gaze to Carla. "Carla, love, its gonna be ok, youre in hospital.." he reassures her, gripping her hand tighter as he watches her open her eyes.

She stares at him, noticing how tired he looks and immediatley feels guilty about what she has done. She tries to speak but no words escape. The nurse attends and fiddles around for a while, checking Carlas stats. When she is gone, there is an eerie silence, neither knowing what to say.

Carla thinks back to the night before. It dawns on her that she could have ended everything then. At the time it seemed like the best option, her judgement clouded by the alcohol pumping through her blood. She couldnt see an end to the daily torment endured because of Frank. She would never have the love of her life. She was not strong enough to fight for her business. But now looking at him she knew she was wrong to do it. She had hurt him and put him through hell and he did not deserve it.

"Peter, wheres Leanne?" she asked curiously.

"Shes at home i think, but listen dont worry about her, you just concentrate on yourself yeah?"

Carla thought for a while, her hand still entwined with his. She felt his prescence more comforting than he could ever know, she felt at her strongest with him, she completely trusted him.

"Im sorry, i never meant for it to go this far. I just needed help, i just wanted to sleep for a while." Carla suddenly blurted. She looked at Peter directly in the eyes. He removed his hand from hers and wrapped his arm around her back, pulling her closer to him as he leant against the side of the bed.

"I know why you did it, but please, promise me youll never do this again." he pleaded with her, his pain evident in his voice.

"I promise. Ill speak to a professional, ill get better." she whispered back.

Peter stayed by her side all day, watching her nodding in and out of sleep, himself doing the same. He was so tired, but he could not allow himself to leave her again, she needed him and he wasnt going to let her down.

"Peter, why dont you go home and get yourself a good nights sleep, hey," Carla interrupted his thoughts and placed her hand on top of his.

"No, im fine here. I just want to make sure everythings ok and then well get you home." He quickly responded to her.

"You should go home to Leanne & Si, they are probably wondering where youve got to. Ill be ok here, Im just going to sleep anyway and.."

"No, i let you down yesterday and its never going to happen again." Peter interjected, hoping Carla would understand his underlying message.

She stared into his eyes, "dont blame yourself, this is my problem, my fault I didnt get help professionally in the first place, my fault I hit the bottle. Please dont ever blame yourself you have been brilliant, more than I could ever ask for."

Peter digested her words and shifted his body towards hers. He took in her features, her emerald green eyes, jet black hair, still amazingly immaculate even after everything. He had to let her know another way. He removed his hand from underneath hers and proceeded to intertwine their fingers. He looked for her other hand and did the same, so they were both holding hands. He looked up again at her beautiful face, now looking confused back at him.

"What are you doing?" Carla questioned as Peters face edged closer to hers, she could feel his hot breath on her skin.

"I love you." he replied simply, his lips inches away. He looked deep into her eyes and knew that this was going to be ok, that the feeling was mutual. Their lips locked. He made the kiss tender and not too hungry or forceful so as to not frighten her. He closed his eyes remembering the last time they did this and how wrong it was but also how right it felt and this time it felt perfect as their kiss drew to an end.


	4. Chapter 4

Neither had spoken a word since they kissed. Carla was sat upright in her bed and Peter sat awkwadly in his chair beside her. The only sound was the ticking of the wall clock as the seconds passed.

Carla was deep in thought and absentmindley picking at her nails. She felt uncomfortable and confused about what had just happened. She knew she wasnt ready for this, even though she had desperatley wanted Peter, she wasnt ready. Now she valued him as someone to confide in and someone to trust, not someone to be in a relationship with. She feared that it may destroy them if they made that step now as they were both scarred by recent events. She also hated him for choosing now to reveal his true feelings.

"Hey what are you thinking?" Peter probed, a bit upset at Carlas response to his advances earlier.

"What am I thinking,? What do you think Im thinking about Peter!" Carla snapped, she was growing impatient with him. He thinks he can drop this bombshell now and we all live happily ever after.

"Im sorry, I just thought that if I could prove to you, how much you mean to me then we can move forward and you wont feel alone. I can always be there for you.."

"Why choose now! Why couldnt you do this before, before Frank, before everything! Why did I have to get this low for you to stand up and admit it. You knew how I felt a year ago!" Carla shouted, the tears now streaming down her face. This is the last thing she needs now.

"I lied to you, I fought it for so long and it dawned on me yesterday, when I nearly lost you that I had to tell you how I feel. I need you to know." Peter stood up slowly and looked at her on the bed, she looked so fragile and tired and it pained him to see her like this. He took a step closer to her "Im sorry ive hurt you and I didnt have the courage to tell you sooner, but im telling you now..."

"I know what you telling me Peter!" she snapped back and then sighed. " I need time to think and im tired" she softened "if you could give me some space, that would be great."

Peter still in the same spot leant forward to kiss her. She turned her face away so he put arms around her shoulders and rested his head above hers. "Ill go home and get some sleep so you can do the same. I promise ill see you tomorrow. Take it easy yeah." With that Peter left. His head was all over the place. How can so much change in 24 hours. He slipped out of the hospital, desperate for something to ease his mind.


End file.
